TB is a bacterial
infection that usually attacks the lungs. It is spread by coughing and
sneezing. Each year about two million people die in low- and high-income countries
from this curable disease.

One third of the world's
population carries today the TB bacillus, and someone in the world is newly infected every
second. The body's immune system normally suppresses the infection. However,
the bacillus can survive, remaining dormant until something weakens the immune system - it
could be malnutrition, diabetes, tobacco, or HIV/AIDS.